Amanda, Charlie - Tuesday evening
Jun. 7th, 2005 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsBack from the hospital where Moira and Kurt found her, Amanda calls in her own resources. It's not much, but at least it's doing something.
It was hard to think through the crushing headache and the residue of the drugs they'd given her at the hospital, but somehow Amanda managed to find Charlie's number in her phone and press 'Call'. Moira had told her to rest, to let the painkillers work, but she had to try, had to make at least some sort of attempt. And maybe Charlie would know someone who knew someone who had heard something, right? The Internet was all about communication, or so he kept saying. Or was that information? She couldn't focus as she listened to the phone dialling off into the ether.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the phone was picked up, and a woman's voice was in her ear, speaking crisply. "Plunder residence, Carolyn speaking."
Amanda sucked in a breath, trying to steady her voice. She didn't know Charlie's mother beyond the small tidbits he'd let slip, but the voice wasn't one that would brook semi-hysterical girls calling on her son. "Um, hello," she managed, her voice only trembling a little. She pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to think through the pounding in her temples. "Can I talk t' Charlie, please? I'm a friend of his."
"A friend?" The woman sounded surprised. "Well, he's studying at the moment..."
"It won't take long, an' it's important," Amanda said, the desperation squeezing through her voice despite herself. "Please, Mrs Plunder."
"Well, I suppose a few minutes..." She sounded doubtful, but was obviously unable to come up with a good enough reason to say no. "I'll just fetch him for you."
There was a bump as the phone was put down, and another of those seemingly endless waits, broken only by the unclear mumble of voices, one the woman's, the other Charlie's, in the background.
There was a long pause, and then a rattle over the line.
"Ah, hello?" Charlie said, sounding obviously puzzled to be on the phone.
Amanda sagged with relief, even though she knew Charlie probably wouldn't be able to help. But she had to try something. "Charlie, 's me, Amanda. Somethin's happened t' Meg, an' I need you t' do a favour for me, if you can. Any of those people you know online, they got an angle on the magic black market? Friends of friends, talkin' 'bout it, that sort of thing?" The pain was starting to feel like someone was jabbing shards of jagged glass into her brain, and she stopped her pacing to curl up into a ball on the floor, back against her bed. All around her were Meggan's possessions, her toys, her books, her little trundle bed... Amanda closed her eyes tightly against the tears. "Anythin' like that?" she managed to croak out.
"Whoa, slow down, Amanda." There was a sharp voice in the background and Charlie came back, more hushed. "What happened to Meg, and why do you think the magic black market is involved?"
"We were in Central Park today. I only left her for a minute t' go t' the bog - she wouldn't come in with me, said it was too smelly." It was so hard to keep the whimper out of her voice. "When I came back out, she was gone. I tried a locatin' spell, but there was a ward, a big one. Knocked me clean out - I woke up in some bloody casualty ward strapped down 'cause they were worried I was some sort of crazy out of control mutant." She was getting off track here. "I found the ward crystal in me bag - it's powerful shite, you'd have t' know the right people t' get one. An' Meg... she's an Innocent, Charlie. A proper one. You know the kind of spells people could use her for. Forget about yer virgin blood, this is the real thing."
"Shit." There was a long pause, and Charlie came back on the line. "I'm not really connected with the kind of people who could do this, but I'll try. Give me a full description of the gem. As detailed as you can remember."
"Looked like onyx crystal, not that big." Amanda screwed up her face trying to remember through the headache. "Disintegrated when I touched it, so it was double protected 'gainst bein' used t' track the owner down. The counter spell's on it were fuckin' strong - it was like a brick wall poppin' up in the middle of a motorway." Her accent was getting thicker. "I don't know what t' do, Charlie. I can't magic this - damn ward's fucked me over good an' proper. I can't even think..." She curled up even tighter, clutching the phone like it was a lifeline. "'M sorry t' land you in it, but Strange is off on retreat or somethin' for the week an' I figured with the 'Net stuff..."
"I don't know what to tell you, Amanda. I'll put a notice on-line, see if there's anyone who might have an idea. I don't know. It's not good. Um, sorry." Charlie said softly. "What about Remy? Can't he, I don't know, track them down or something?"
"He's workin' on it. Only he doesn't have the magic connections up here. I used to, but they've all moved on since I quit usin'..." Amanda took a deep breath, then another forcing herself to calm down a bit. The Professor had the X-Men were working on this. Remy was working on it. Between them, surely... "I'm so scared for her, Charlie. Bad enough what happened t' me, but her... I was only gone a minute, I swear."
"Look, it'll be alright, Amanda. If someone used a warding crystal, it's not some pervert that snatched her. They must want her for something, so that means she'll be safe until then. You've got people that can find her in time." Charlie had moved to his computer and started typing. "Wait a second. Of course. I'm an idiot!"
"What?" she asked, unable to keep the desperate hope out of her voice.
"If they used a warding gem..." Amanda heard the scrabble as Charlie rummaged through papers and books. "Yeah, we don't need to hunt down the net, Amanda. Whoever used that gem has to either know you or your magic signature well enough to synch that gem to your thaumatic field. Here it is. Yeah, it's either a thaumatage you know, or someone who knows pretty much everything about you guiding one. There can't be that many possibilities."
Someone who knew... "He wouldn't dare," she said distantly. "Not after what Pete did to him the last time..." But maybe Pete's protection didn't hold for Meggan, since he'd never met her. Or maybe Pete's joining the Hellfire Club had changed a lot more than she'd imagined. Someone like Selene would be very interested in an Innocent. Collecting herself, she told Charlie: "You're right, there ain't. Look, I've got t' go, tell someone 'bout this. You're a bloody marvel, mate - I don't know how t' thank you."
"Just let me know when everything is alright." Charlie said, smiling slightly as she hung up. He put the phone back in the cradle and took a deep breath before turning and preparing to explain things to his mother.
It was hard to think through the crushing headache and the residue of the drugs they'd given her at the hospital, but somehow Amanda managed to find Charlie's number in her phone and press 'Call'. Moira had told her to rest, to let the painkillers work, but she had to try, had to make at least some sort of attempt. And maybe Charlie would know someone who knew someone who had heard something, right? The Internet was all about communication, or so he kept saying. Or was that information? She couldn't focus as she listened to the phone dialling off into the ether.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the phone was picked up, and a woman's voice was in her ear, speaking crisply. "Plunder residence, Carolyn speaking."
Amanda sucked in a breath, trying to steady her voice. She didn't know Charlie's mother beyond the small tidbits he'd let slip, but the voice wasn't one that would brook semi-hysterical girls calling on her son. "Um, hello," she managed, her voice only trembling a little. She pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to think through the pounding in her temples. "Can I talk t' Charlie, please? I'm a friend of his."
"A friend?" The woman sounded surprised. "Well, he's studying at the moment..."
"It won't take long, an' it's important," Amanda said, the desperation squeezing through her voice despite herself. "Please, Mrs Plunder."
"Well, I suppose a few minutes..." She sounded doubtful, but was obviously unable to come up with a good enough reason to say no. "I'll just fetch him for you."
There was a bump as the phone was put down, and another of those seemingly endless waits, broken only by the unclear mumble of voices, one the woman's, the other Charlie's, in the background.
There was a long pause, and then a rattle over the line.
"Ah, hello?" Charlie said, sounding obviously puzzled to be on the phone.
Amanda sagged with relief, even though she knew Charlie probably wouldn't be able to help. But she had to try something. "Charlie, 's me, Amanda. Somethin's happened t' Meg, an' I need you t' do a favour for me, if you can. Any of those people you know online, they got an angle on the magic black market? Friends of friends, talkin' 'bout it, that sort of thing?" The pain was starting to feel like someone was jabbing shards of jagged glass into her brain, and she stopped her pacing to curl up into a ball on the floor, back against her bed. All around her were Meggan's possessions, her toys, her books, her little trundle bed... Amanda closed her eyes tightly against the tears. "Anythin' like that?" she managed to croak out.
"Whoa, slow down, Amanda." There was a sharp voice in the background and Charlie came back, more hushed. "What happened to Meg, and why do you think the magic black market is involved?"
"We were in Central Park today. I only left her for a minute t' go t' the bog - she wouldn't come in with me, said it was too smelly." It was so hard to keep the whimper out of her voice. "When I came back out, she was gone. I tried a locatin' spell, but there was a ward, a big one. Knocked me clean out - I woke up in some bloody casualty ward strapped down 'cause they were worried I was some sort of crazy out of control mutant." She was getting off track here. "I found the ward crystal in me bag - it's powerful shite, you'd have t' know the right people t' get one. An' Meg... she's an Innocent, Charlie. A proper one. You know the kind of spells people could use her for. Forget about yer virgin blood, this is the real thing."
"Shit." There was a long pause, and Charlie came back on the line. "I'm not really connected with the kind of people who could do this, but I'll try. Give me a full description of the gem. As detailed as you can remember."
"Looked like onyx crystal, not that big." Amanda screwed up her face trying to remember through the headache. "Disintegrated when I touched it, so it was double protected 'gainst bein' used t' track the owner down. The counter spell's on it were fuckin' strong - it was like a brick wall poppin' up in the middle of a motorway." Her accent was getting thicker. "I don't know what t' do, Charlie. I can't magic this - damn ward's fucked me over good an' proper. I can't even think..." She curled up even tighter, clutching the phone like it was a lifeline. "'M sorry t' land you in it, but Strange is off on retreat or somethin' for the week an' I figured with the 'Net stuff..."
"I don't know what to tell you, Amanda. I'll put a notice on-line, see if there's anyone who might have an idea. I don't know. It's not good. Um, sorry." Charlie said softly. "What about Remy? Can't he, I don't know, track them down or something?"
"He's workin' on it. Only he doesn't have the magic connections up here. I used to, but they've all moved on since I quit usin'..." Amanda took a deep breath, then another forcing herself to calm down a bit. The Professor had the X-Men were working on this. Remy was working on it. Between them, surely... "I'm so scared for her, Charlie. Bad enough what happened t' me, but her... I was only gone a minute, I swear."
"Look, it'll be alright, Amanda. If someone used a warding crystal, it's not some pervert that snatched her. They must want her for something, so that means she'll be safe until then. You've got people that can find her in time." Charlie had moved to his computer and started typing. "Wait a second. Of course. I'm an idiot!"
"What?" she asked, unable to keep the desperate hope out of her voice.
"If they used a warding gem..." Amanda heard the scrabble as Charlie rummaged through papers and books. "Yeah, we don't need to hunt down the net, Amanda. Whoever used that gem has to either know you or your magic signature well enough to synch that gem to your thaumatic field. Here it is. Yeah, it's either a thaumatage you know, or someone who knows pretty much everything about you guiding one. There can't be that many possibilities."
Someone who knew... "He wouldn't dare," she said distantly. "Not after what Pete did to him the last time..." But maybe Pete's protection didn't hold for Meggan, since he'd never met her. Or maybe Pete's joining the Hellfire Club had changed a lot more than she'd imagined. Someone like Selene would be very interested in an Innocent. Collecting herself, she told Charlie: "You're right, there ain't. Look, I've got t' go, tell someone 'bout this. You're a bloody marvel, mate - I don't know how t' thank you."
"Just let me know when everything is alright." Charlie said, smiling slightly as she hung up. He put the phone back in the cradle and took a deep breath before turning and preparing to explain things to his mother.
